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(Top) 1 Production 2 Critical reception 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 5 Release history 6 References 7 External links

Black Diamond (Stan Ridgway album)

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Black Diamond

Studio album by

Stan Ridgway

Released

January 20, 1996

Recorded

Impala Studios and Living Presence Studios, CA

Genre

Folk rock, alternative rock

Length

50:52

Label

Birdcage^[1]

Producer

Stan Ridgway

Stan Ridgway chronology

Songs That Made This Country Great
(1992)

Black Diamond
(1996)

Film Songs
(1997)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Calgary Herald	^[3]
Uncut	^[4]

Black Diamond is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Stan Ridgway, released in 1996.^[5]^[6]

Production

[edit]

"As I Went Out One Morning" is a cover of the Bob Dylan song.^[3] "Luther Played Guitar" is about the guitar player Luther Perkins.^[7] "Gone the Distance" addresses the death of Kurt Cobain.^[8]

Critical reception

[edit]

The Washington Post determined that "the Dylan tune is one indication that Ridgway wants to be taken seriously, and he does tone down his arch vocal style on some of these songs."^[9] The Boston Globe wrote that the album, "though quieter and more spare than much of Ridgway's work, continues his pattern of writing moody story-songs, restless character studies imbued with dark, spooky undertones."^[10]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Stan Ridgway, except "As I Went Out One Morning", by Bob Dylan

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Big Dumb Town"	4:20
2.	"Gone the Distance"	3:03
3.	"Knife and Fork"	4:52
4.	"Down the Coast Hwy"	4:23
5.	"Luther Played Guitar"	4:20
6.	"Stranded"	4:51
7.	"Wild Bill Donovan"	2:54
8.	"Man of Stone"	3:47
9.	"Pink Parakeet"	4:58
10.	"Underneath the Big Green Tree"	3:21
11.	"As I Went Out One Morning"	3:13
12.	"Crystal Palace"	6:50

Personnel

[edit]

Adapted from the Black Diamond liner notes.^[11]

Musicians

Stan Ridgway – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonica, recorder, Hammond organ, production
Ted Andersen – drums, percussion
Harlan Boddicker – bass guitar
Larry Grennan – recording, mixing, percussion, backing vocals
Bob Elmo – cello, violin, bass guitar
Todd Sharp – saxophone, woodwind
Pietra Wexstun – keyboards, backing vocals

Production and additional personnel

Ed Colver – photography
Fred Davis – design
Doug Schwartz – mastering

Release history

[edit]

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United States	1996	Birdcage	CD	11007
United States	2012	Birdcage	LP	11007

References

[edit]

^ Morris, Chris (Feb 3, 1996). "Flag Waving". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 5. p. 63.

^ Adams, Greg. "Black Diamond". AllMusic. Retrieved June 30, 2015.

^ ^a ^b Muretich, James (24 Mar 1996). "Stan Ridgway: Black Diamond". Calgary Herald. p. C2.

^ "Stan Ridgway – Black Diamond". Uncut. August 31, 2003.

^ "Stan Ridgway Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.

^ Stolder, Steven (Apr 1996). "Rock-pop recordings — Black Diamond by Stan Ridgway". Audio. 80 (4): 84.

^ Rinaldi, Ray Mark (7 Mar 1996). "Black Diamond Stan Ridgway". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Get Out. p. 9.

^ Shuster, Fred (17 Feb 1996). "REINVENTING ROCKER RIDGWAY". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L7.

^ "RIDGWAY ISO STYLE". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 February 2022.

^ Sullivan, Jim (14 June 1996). "The novelty of Stan Ridgway". The Boston Globe. ARTS & FILM. p. 65.

^ Black Diamond (booklet). Stan Ridgway. Sierra Madre, California: Birdcage Records. 1996.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)